polar bear paintings
Today's addition to the Polar Bear Art Advent Calendar is very late because we had a wonderful early Christmas celebration with the new little cub in our family! It seemed appropriate that a baby bear should be the art for today. (To see Fuzzball & The Poppies in its entirety & to learn its symbolism , please click here). I hope your December 22 is (was ) a good one!
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This little cub face is the flip image of "Scruffy" a 12" h x 6" w palette knife painting . The palette knife brings out the texture of a little bear who has been playing hard out in the tundra. It looks like a pretty bright little bear, don't you think? To learn more about the original painting , please click here .
Paws Pause. First in the series. ©Christine Montague
Thinking. Second in the series. ©Christine Montague
….now, the paws of this powerful, apex predator, with their thick, curved and very sharp 2 inch plus claws, have changed direction. And appear to be heading your way. So...
"Oh, oh"
Oh, Oh. Third in the series. ©Christine Montague
A powerful looking polar bear is portrayed against the setting sun, and the sea. The darkness of the winter is retreating, as is the sea ice, so important for the polar bear's survival.
As the sun sets, its glory is reflected in what remains of the sea ice and off the polar bear's translucent fur.
We can reflect, too. What will we loose under the threat of climate change? A setting sun offers hope with a new day ahead, but it also symbolizes the end of a story. Do we want a happy one? .
24" x 24' x 1.5" Painting continues around edges. Wired ready to hang. Certificate of Authenticity supplied.
$1000 CAD. Free shipping to Canada. Shipping is available worldwide. Contact me here
Into the Sunset 1 © Christine Montague ChristineMontague.com
Triplets. Hung horizontally. ©Christine Montague Oil painting. 20” x 30”
Triplets hung vertically. 30”h x 20”w ©Christine Montague
The painting below has the perfect title - Looking Back, Moving Forward - for New Year's Eve. New Year’s Eve is all about saying goodbye to what has been a heck of a year, and saying hello with great anticipation, to the new one.
Looking Back, Moving Forward tells a story about a polar bear in the spring (the next thing we can look forward to). The arctic night has ended, dramatic sunsets make their reappearance , the sea ice is breaking up, and the polar bear returns to the tundra. As the day draws to an end, the sun’s glory is reflected off the open water, the remaining ice, and the polar bear's translucent fur - sea, ice and polar bear connected by its light, colour and warmth.
In the movies, setting off into the sunset symbolizes a happy ending, but it is also the promise of a new day ahead.
Looking Back, Moving Forward is a 24" x 24" x 1.5" oil painting ©Christine Montague . It is available.
Sun Halo Polar Bear 1 ©Christine Montague ChristineMontague.com
(valid until December 31, 2020)
Bright in the Night. ©Christine Montague ChristineMontague.com Please see original below for painting without text.
Bright in the Night. ©Christine Montague ChristineMontague.com
Just Saying Hello . ©Christine Montague 4” x4” x 1.5” painting. Text not on original art, All paint is metallic. gold, blue & green. ChristineMontague.com
Just Saying Hello ©Christine Montague. Without text. Sides are gold. ChristineMontague.com
In the Pink. Sunset Polar Bear Series. ©Christine Montague Please contact Christine here
Months ago, when the Artworld Fine Art Gallery and I planned the opening date of my "Dark Water" solo art exhibit (March 24, 2018, on until April 3rd) we had no idea it was the same date as the 2018 Earth Hour. the world's largest grass roots movement for the environment, co-ordinated in part by the World Wildlife Federation (WWF).
Dark Water is an show about the wonder of polar bears, and the threat posed to them through climate change. Polar bears are the world's largest land predators, the only bear that are a marine mammal, are highly intelligent, playful, strong swimmers, devoted mothers, and are beautiful, too....
Read MoreThe weather has been great here in the Greater Toronto Area, and for that I am grateful.
It meant that I could journey to the Williams Mill Gallery in Halton Hills, for the opening night of The Joy of Art, snow, and anxiety, free. Opening nights are always anxiety filled for us introverted artists, even if a happy event in which I have 6 large paintings and a selection of little polar bears on panel on show.
The Joy of Art exhibit continues until Christmas. And not only would I love if you could see my polar bear paintings in person (and perhaps make one your own), but I'd also love you to experience the beautiful venue in which I once had my studio, and resided on the Board. The historic Williams Mill Visual Arts Centre, that houses the gallery and a multiple of working artist studios, is centre to the unique picturesque hamlet of Glen Williams.
Williams Mill is located at 515 Main St., Glen Williams. Only 20 minutes north of Mississauga. 40 minutes north of Toronto. The gallery is open Wed. - Sun., 12 - 5 pm. The 25 + artists studios are open Fridays to Sunday 12 - 5 pm.
As well as myself, other guest artists include Tina Newlove (painting), Naomi Assenheim (jewelry), Bonnie Glass (couturier), are a few of the names that come to mind.
Visitors to the Williams Mill Gallery discussing Christine Montague polar bear paintings. ©Christine Montague
On Saturday, December 9th , 1 pm - 4 pm - I will have sneak preview of two of my new polar bear paintings for my upcoming solo show of polar bear art (March 2018) at the TWAC exhibit and meet the artists, which is just part of the creative holiday fun at the Artworld Fine Art Gallery Holiday Open House. If you would like to participate in the "Paint with Briar Edmond" event please be sure to RSVP with the gallery. NHL legend Red Kelly will be signing his book "The Red Kelly Story". A portion of proceeds will go towards St. Joseph's Health centre in Toronto.
I hope to see you there!
Artworld Fine Art Gallery is located at 365 Evans Ave. Toronto, ON M8Z 1K2
I visited the Canadian Arctic for the first time in May, 2014. After a day in Iqaluit (Nunavut's capital) I flew to Cape Dorset (pop. approx 1300) at the southern tip of Baffin Island.
Although the landscape surrounding Cape Dorset is stunning, it was the ochre ribbon-like roads looping through the hamlet, and the constant activity on them, that intrigued me most. Most people walk or drive ATVs (skidoos in winter) to socialize, shop and work. There are few larger vehicles, but the school bus seems always on the go, as are the trucks that deliver fresh water and empty the septic tanks. Thus my first steps out on the town (well, hamlet) were a delightful contrast to my city experience, where the roads are hectic and the sidewalks empty.
The hope and promise of Cape Dorset is represented in it's wonderful children. Photo: ©Christine Montague www.christinemontague.com
Next to my hotel (Dorset Suites), and across from Tellik Inlet, is the world-renowned Kinngait Arts Studio, the oldest printing studio in Canada. The distinctive red-roofed, green and yellow buildings (seen below), have been around since 1957. This summer (2017) work has begun on the new cultural centre and studios. To see larger images please click on the photos below.
Panoramic view of Kinngait Arts and kellit bay, Cape Dorset. Photo: ©Christine Montague 2014
Below:Tellik Inlet by Kinngait Arts. Turn right to go to the two grocery and supply stores, and the RCMP station. Turn left to find the Wildlife Office, the municipal pier, and the gazebo on the hill.
The gazebo, seen from most vantage points of the hamlet, is an unusual landmark for such a northern community, but, hey, I loved it. A sheltered bit of architecture, where I could start each day and take in the glorious landscape. In the picture below, you can spot the gazebo above the Wildlife Office (the building on the left ). Click on the picture below to see a larger image
Huge. and I mean, huge, polar bear skin dries on stretcher. Photo: ©Christine Montague 2014
The polar bear hide seen above was huge. I mean hair-raising, goose bump inspiring big. I wish I had thought to put my hand or iPhone by a paw for reference.
Meanwhile, on the same day I happily arrived in Cape Dorset, a polar bear attacked two Arctic Bay hunters as they slept in their tent. They survived, but only after a fight for their lives. For a dramatic account of the attack, and some equally dramatic polar bear facts, read http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674nunavut_polar_bear_attack_survivors_thankful_to_be_alive/
I love polar bears, and my polar bear paintings are portraiture tributes to these great mammals whose future is of concern. But up north? One can never forget these beautiful, intelligent, powerful kings of the arctic are dangerous.
Big Bear Passing (48" by 36" polar bear oil painting by Christine Montague )
Big Bear Walking. polar bear painting ©Christine Montague
So, up the hill to the gazebo.
Up to the gazebo. Cape Dorset. Photo: ©Christine Montague
Gazebo. Cape Dorset, Nunavut. Photo: ©Christine Montague
Looking down at pier on Tellik Inlet from gazebo. Photo: ©Christine Montague
Kinngait mountain as seen from the gazebo. Photo: ©Christine Montague
Below. Snowmobilers travel on frozen Tellik Inlet to get to open water beyond.
Inuit hunters head out on the land. As seen from the gazebo in Cape Dorset. Photo: ©Christine Montague www.christinemontague.com
I was forewarned to expect roads thick with mud, but they were dry and solid. Later in summer, when the roads become too dry, passing ATVs and the odd car send up clouds of pervasive dust. But for now, as it was the first week of sunny, cheery weather, children, especially boys, were out on their bikes, pedalling uphill with admirable ease.
Bicyclist in Cape Dorset. Photo: ©Christine Montague
To be continued...
Note: I use a Sony A7r with 35mm Zeiss lens. iPhone 5s was my back up.
Meet The Blue Prince, a 30" x 40" polar bear oil painting. Why have I titled this painting, The Blue Prince? ...this mighty polar bear painting is created in dramatic shades of blue,.. is a portrait of arctic royalty, and polar bears, highly intelligent, and the largest and mightiest arctic predator, are often referred to as the Lords of the North.
Read MoreInerkartok, is a 6" x 12" portrait oil painting on canvas of a polar bear sitting in the snow. "Inerkartok" means pretty in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit in Nunavut, an arctic territory in Canada. The polar bear in this oil painting is a pretty one, and I would like to believe she is sitting pretty, too. Sitting pretty is an old idiom that means in a good place or a in a good situation. However, this recent Polar Bears International video on the retreating sea ice and the 40% decline in the polar bear population is far from pretty.
Inerkartok is just one of the paintings in my series A Celebration of Polar Bears.
More more polar bear info -
As fascinating as it would be to actually have a polar bear in my artist studio to paint "live" from, I realize the "live" part probably wouldn't apply to one of us for long.
Polar bear portrait study 1. ©Christine Montague. Polar bear oil paintings on canvas. 12" x 12". Contact Christine here.
So to simulate this experience I brought up one of my photos of the wonderful Inukshuk (the adult male bear at the Toronto Zoo) on my laptop. I positioned my laptop at a distance and height a human model would sit in front of the easel. Imagining the model before me was 3D, I blocked in the shapes, values and colours I observed on the blank canvas. There was nothing drawn up before hand.
Detail: Polar Bear Portrait 2. (private collection). ©Christine Montague 12" x 12" polar bear oil painting. Please feel free to comment below or comments & inquiries are always welcome here.
In this style of painting, the background is more than a backdrop of colour to hide the white canvas. The paint helps carve out and define the outer edge of the head, helping it to stand out from the canvas. Only at the end of the portrait painting are the fine details, and pure blacks and whites added.
Of course, for me, whether the portrait subject is human or otherwise, the big reward is always when I get to finish the eyes. Thanks to the magic of oils, the polar bear eyes in these portrait paintings, as well as in my imagination, are very much alive.
Polar Bear Portrait Study 3. ©Christine Montague (Please note that this image is slightly cropped. ) . For comments and questions about any of my art please contact me.
Here are two more polar bear oil paintings in the Celebration of Polar Bear Series -.Aurora and Borealis. They are named, or course, for the aurora borealis, the northern lights that dance so brilliantly in the arctic sky. The size, beauty, and intelligence of the polar bear, makes this bear as magically magnetic as the northern lights.
Aurora. ©Christine Montague (6" x 12" )original oil paintings of polar bears I've read that some Inuit communities believe that the aurora borealis are animal spirits, but this Aurora has her paws firmly planted on the ground. Contact Christine Montague Polar Bear Art.
Borealis (6" x 12"). ©Christine Montague polar bear oil paintings Contact Christine Polar Bear Art.
Borealis is a latin word that originates from the Greek personification of the north wind boreas.
Canada's arctic is home to over 60% of the world's polar bears but they also live in the arctic areas of Alaska (U.S.A.), Greenland, Norway and Russia (that's it, folks).
The word Boreas reminded me of Boris. They are not pronounced the same , but close enough, and so I often think of this painting as Boris, a popular Russian name that is fun to say, and is a nod to all the Russian polar bears, too.
A group of polar bears is known as a celebration of polar bears. That is exactly what my polar bear portraits oil paintings are, happy, heartfelt celebratory tributes to these magnificent arctic animals.
Please visit Christine Montague Portrait Oil Paintings & Polar Bear Art for more information about these and other paintings.
